


A Little Longer (the day after)

by LaMadeleine



Series: Fashion Assistant/Gallery AU oneshots [2]
Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Sickfic, Sofa cuddles and soup, Swearing, The flu, Violet briefly calls Pearl mommy if that bothers you, but theres no smut so, i guess i should warn you about the references to fucking, yes it's capitalised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 03:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15788304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaMadeleine/pseuds/LaMadeleine
Summary: The day after Pearl finds Violet in a blanket pile when she comes home from work.





	A Little Longer (the day after)

Pearl woke up sweating. The type of sweat that covers you in discomfort as your pyjamas and sheets stick to every inch of your skin.

She moved to fling the sheets off and, maybe, tear off all the clothes she was wearing when she remembered - _Violet_.

Her eyes snapped open to find her girlfriend curled up beside her.

Violet’s brow was smooth as she slept but still glistened with that familiar sheen of sweat, her skin waxen as Pearl reached out to feel her forehead. Still too warm.

 

Pearl slid out of bed, dropping clothes as she wandered towards the bathroom.

 

Shivering pleasantly at the touch of tile under her feet, Pearl shoved a cloth under the tap. The sound of running water echoed through the apartment as the early light slipped through the windows. She wrung out the cloth and padded back to their bedroom, cooled down in the absence of Violet’s fever acting as her personal heater.

 

Violet was just as she had left her, her bare torso glowing as the morning light struck her skin. Pearl watched from the doorway as consciousness dawn on her, stirring as the light struck her closed eyes. Violet groaned as she rolled onto her back, rubbing at her eyes groggily.

She stretched out a hand, feeling the rumpled sheets, slow to realise she was alone in bed. Craning her neck off the bed, she spotted Pearl against the doorframe, cloth in hand.

“Why’re you over there?” she slurred quietly, one eye pinched shut against the sun.  
Pearl gave her a dozy grin, shuffling back to bed and leaning over Violet to press a kiss to her forehead before replacing her lips with the damp cloth.

The relief on Violet’s face was instantaneous.

“Oooh, yes Mommy…”

Pearl choked.

“ _Violet._ ”

“Shh, just like that.”

Violet’s hand covered her own as she pressed the cloth to her forehead, sliding it along her neck and across her collarbone. Their fingers twisted together over the cloth, Violet’s eyes slipping shut only to open a crack as Pearl stroked her hair from her cheek, fingertip trailing over the bone.

 

“What times’it?” Violet whispered, rolling out of Pearl’s touch and wincing as she caught sight of the alarm clock.

Groaning, she wriggled out from under the covers and Pearl, taking the cloth with her.

“Vi, you really don’t need to be out of bed, Pumpkin,” Pearl said, reaching for her shoulder. Violet shrugged off her hand, pulling herself to her feet stiffly.

“Nonono, I need to get ready for work, Pearlie. I need to-”

She teetered violently, Pearl springing from the bed just in time to grab her by the waist and take her weight as Violet’s legs nearly gave out under her.

“Oh no, girly, no work for you, nuh-uh.” Pearl pulled Violet back towards their bed.

“Pearl, I need to work,” Violet mumbled against Pearl’s neck, her hand gripping Pearl’s arm weakly.

“I know, but only once you’re better.” Pearl sat Violet back on the bed, cradling her against her chest. “Michelle can do without you for a day, and she can have you back on Monday when you’ve had some _rest_.”

Violet’s brow wrinkled as she struggled to put together a coherent sentence to counter Pearl’s. She huffed after a moment, coming up blank.

“I’ll call Michelle and tell her I’m not going to make it.”

“Atta girl.” Pearl pressed a quick kiss to Violet’s cheek before she hopped off the bed to grab her clothes.

“Pearl?”

“Yeah?”

“I might need help getting to the shower.”

Pearl laughed softly as she caught sight of Violet’s extended arms and delicate pout.

She took her hand, an arm around Violet’s waist as she leaned against her, the pair of them moving slowly towards the bathroom.

*

Violet sat slumped on the closed toilet lid, wearily pushing slick curls from her face as she waited for Pearl to finish up. Her eyes fluttered shut quicker than she could snap them open, swaying slightly with every blink as she curled up in her towel.

When she next forced her eyes open Pearl was in front of her.

“You okay there?” Her voice soft, the look she gave Violet just the same. She was already in fresh lingerie, hair towelled off.

Violet watched a droplet land on Pearl’s chest and trickled down to the lace of her bra, the fabric tinting a darker shade of pink, the light from the window glancing off the curve of Pearl’s chest, dipping into her waist as she reached over Violet -

_Oh._

A second towel landed on Violet’s head, joined by the even pressure of Pearl’s fingers rubbing circles into her scalp. Violet watched the shift of Pearl’s arms and chest as she patted and squeezed at Violet’s hair before pulling her head down so she could wrap her hair.

The whole thing only made the world spin a little. Violet wasn’t sure she could blame the spinning on the flu alone.

 

When Pearl let her up, she watched the constellations of freckles ripple over Pearl’s shoulders and arms as the other woman fiddled with the front of Violet’s hair-hat. Violet blinked back up at Pearl’s face, dazed by the smile shining in her eyes.

“I think you’ll do.”

Pearl turned back to the basin to brush her teeth with one last trailed fingertip along Violet’s hairline.

*

Skirt on and jacket in hand, Pearl padded into the kitchen to find Violet nursing another mug of foul-smelling tea, about a moment’s notice from falling off her stool.

Slipping her arms around Violet’s waist, Pearl leaned her head over her shoulder, lips lingering on Violet’s cheek.

“Are you going to be okay if I go to work today?” She asked quietly, her arms and chest warming rapidly where Violet rested against her.

Violet hummed at her, one hand untwisting from her mug to hold Pearl’s shirt sleeve.

“I can stay if you want me to.” Violet shook her head, fingers wrapped softly over Pearl’s. “Are you sure?”

Violet chuckled, turning to press her face into the joi of Pearl’s jaw and neck, leaving the faint press of a kiss before pulling back to look Pearl in the eye.

“Go to work, silly, I’ll be fine.”

 

When Pearl kissed her goodbye - _On the cheek, Pearl, I’m all gross_ \- and bolted out the door to catch her train, Violet shivered. Looking around the kitchenette she wished she had asked Pearl to get her back to bed at least. Instead, she finished what she could of her tea, rinsed her mug and wobbled towards bed, just about remembering to call Michelle before she dropped onto the bed.

Eyes shut and body aching, Violet wished she had asked Pearl to stay.

*

The apartment was completely still when Pearl got back from work, knees stiff from the continuous stream of paperwork that had kept her seated all day, a decent chunk of it in her bag to sort through over the weekend. She got the door open on the first try and eased it closed behind her, looking around for signs of life.

Every move she made seemed to bounce off of each surface in vivid sound: the clatter of her keys into the bowl, the tap of her shoes on the rack, the rustle of her jacket as it slid from her shoulders and settled on the hook behind the door.

She wandered into the kitchenette; nothing had changed bar the half-sandwich that Violet must have left out after realising she couldn’t finish it.

_Girl’s definitely sick._

Pearl prodded at it, the bread still relatively squidgy.

She looked around, expecting Violet to spring out of a cupboard to tell her off for eating food that had been left out for to long. Nothing happened. Pearl shoved the sandwich in her mouth, cringing at Violet’s choice of pastrami as a filling as she put the plate in the sink and flicked the kettle on.

 

She found their bedroom door pulled to: Violet never could sleep with it open all the way. Curling her fingertips around the edge, Pearl opened the door just enough to slip into the room. It crossed her mind briefly whether a door opening would be enough to wake Violet; it had happened at Pearl’s old apartment but, then again, all of those hinges squeaked or groaned or fell off in your hand with half a door leaning on you.

 _Maybe I should_ _’ve_ _had that looked at._

 

And there she was, wrapped half in and half around the covers, hands peeking out from the sleeves of Pearl’s jumper. It had always been big on Pearl but it swamped Violet’s slim frame, especially when she curled up. Her hair had only frizzed a little where she had rolled when trying to sleep, still lying around her in dark curls, the few stray pieces floating in front of her face and along one cheek. She was still pale, Pearl noticed, but the seemingly permanent sheen of sweat was gone. Violet could have passed as simply exhausted if Pearl hadn’t known better. Pushing the curl from her cheek, Pearl grabbed a change of clothes and slipped back out to the bathroom.

 

Violet never moved much in her sleep, if she moved at all.

It had alarmed Pearl at first, Violet sleeping next to her not-moving, her breathing imperceptible unless you put your hands between her shoulder blades just so. Pearl had almost pulled out a mirror to check if she was still alive the first time she had woken up before Violet.

Violet-with-flu wasn’t any different.

When Pearl got back to her, half-heartedly looking for her hairbrush, Violet was as still as a picture, she hadn’t shifted a millimetre. The only difference Pearl could make out was the slight rasp in her breathing.

She pressed her hand to Violet’s forehead, letting her breath fall against her wrist.

_Just in case._

Content that Violet wasn’t overheating as much as she had been, Pearl left a lingering kiss on Violet’s temple before edging away, one eye on Violet’s breathing, hoping she hadn’t woken her. When nothing changed, Pearl grabbed one of the blankets off the floor by the foot of her bed and walked back to the living room, flicking on Netflix and settling down with coffee. Her workbag completely ignored where it sat by the front door.

*

Pearl made it through three episodes before she heard anything move in the flat. She twisted to look behind her when she the pad of feet, Violet emerging from the hall in nothing more than her panties and Pearl’s jumper.

Pearl couldn’t help herself,

“I thought you hated that jumper.”

She grinned at Violet as the other woman flipped her off and filled a glass with water.

 

Without a word, Violet wriggled herself onto the sofa next to Pearl, eying the TV with sleepy suspicion.

“Haven’t you already seen all of this?”

Pearl’s smile softened as she watched Violet squint at the TV like it had just told her she seemed like a dog person, her hair now bundled up and away from her face. Well, as far out of her face as she could manage with that persistent curl finding its way onto her cheek.

“I have, but it’s easy it watch.” Violet grunted, still eying the opening to ‘The Good Place’. “And I need some easy TV right now.” Pearl breathed out, leaning against the arm rest, eyes back on the screen.

She saw Violet shift in her peripheral vision but didn’t notice how until Violet’s hands were on her, persistent, pulling her this way and that until she could curl up beside her, her head in Pearl’s lap.

 

Pearl stared down at her, watching Violet watch TV more than watching it herself.

Violet squeezed her eyes shut as Pearl fidgeted until she was comfortable, humming quietly when Pearl ran her fingers through her hair apologetically.

They went on like that, with Violet whining when Pearl started fiddling with her hair only to yank out the hair tie herself when Pearl stopped, lying back on Pearl’s lap and only relaxing as Pearl threaded her fingers back into her hair.

 

And then Pearl started wriggling around, trying not to displace Violet and failing miserably. Violet startled groggily from her half-hour long doze and pushed herself up to look at Pearl when she didn’t stop.

“What’re you doing?” Violet was going for incredulous with a heavy dose of unimpressed.

Pearl wasn’t going to tell her that it was coming across more sleepy and confused than anything else. Ignoring Violet for the most part, Pearl twisted around on the sofa, shoving her hand between the cushion and the arm, wincing before -

“Ahah!” She yanked her hand from the depths of the sofa, her phone in hand.

Pearl flicked it on, a surprised _huh_ leaving her as she saw the time.

 

She glanced back at Violet, who was rubbing her eyes, a slight pout on her lips.

 _Someone’s feeling more like herself_.

“Sorry Vi.” Violet’s pout didn’t lessen one bit. “I know, but it’s getting late. Dinner?”

Violet’s face morphed from its pout into horror in the blink of an eye, all of her remaining strength going into her grip on Pearl as the blonde tried to stand.

“Pearl, baby, _please_.” Pearl stared down at her, perplexed at her girlfriend all but hanging from her arm. “Please, _please_ , don’t try to cook anything.”

“What-”

“I don’t think I can handle the fire alarm right now, the sound might just kill me.”

Pearl gaped at her.

“Ex-cuse me? I’m not _that_ bad at cooking.” Violet wasn’t convinced. “Okay, I might be but-” she held up a finger when Violet opened her mouth to protest, “ _But_ , I think I can handle soup. I picked up that fancy stuff that you like on the way home from work.”

Violet’s grip loosened, opting to hold Pearl’s hand instead of her arm, her voice small,

“You mean the pesto one?”

Pearl smiled smugly,

“Uh huh, want some?” She squeezed Violet’s hand, watching the cogs turn on Violet’s face, her lip quirking in the way it always did when Violet was thinking.

 

Still chewing on the inside of her lip, Violet looked up at Pearl, eyes narrowed,

“You _promise_ not to burn down the apartment?”

Pearl grinned,

“Pinky promise.” Wrapping her pinky with Violet’s briefly with Violet’s before slipping her hand free and heading for the fridge.

*

Violet had the sense to hide her surprise when Pearl walked back in with two bowls of soup, managing not to slip or spill any on herself or the furniture on the way past. She handed Violet hers and lowered herself _slowly_ onto the sofa, a throw cushion shoved onto her lap the second before she could try to rest a hot bowl on her leg.

Pearl quirked an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips,

“Who’s the sick one again?”

Violet waved her off, occupied with a mouthful of soup and a sudden interest in the plot unfolding onscreen. Pearl covered her laugh by burning her tongue.

For someone who had been distinctly sick under twenty-four hours ago, Violet seemed to speed her way through her soup and sat watching the TV, fidgeting occasionally as Pearl crawled her way through dinner. Pearl only just caught the look Violet shot her as she collected their bowls together and headed into the kitchen.

_Probably just happy I’m washing up right away for once._

 

Wiping off her hands, Pearl padded back into the living room. Violet had stretched herself across the sofa, sound asleep. Pearl could have laughed at how much Violet was sleeping if it hadn’t been for the nights she had felt Violet leave their bed or insist she couldn’t stay at Pearl’s when she was trying to cover how she couldn’t sleep.

Pearl grabbed Violet’s glass from the table, turning the TV down before heading back to the kitchen.

*

She could barely bring herself to nudge Violet awake when she came back with water,  one hand gently rocking her back and forth until she stirred. Pearl watched as Violet tried to blink herself awake, pushing herself up on unsteady arms to take the glass offered to her.

Drinking quickly, Violet let out an appreciative noise that slurred quickly into a groan. Pearl’s hand went instinctively to her forehead.

“Vi?”

Violet shook her head a little, holding out the glass. Pearl took it from her and put it on the coffee table, reaching for her arms as she struggled to settle at all.

“Talk to me, Pumpkin.” Pearl knelt on the floor by the sofa as Violet lay with her eyes squeezed shut.

“Ate too quickly, feel gross.” Violet croaked, her face pinched in discomfort. “Stomach’s all swishy.”

 

Pearl slipped her hands from Violet’s and skidded into the kitchen, clattering through cupboards in her search for a tub she knew was in the flat from one of her _many_ hangovers.

Violet clearly recognised the sound of it as it landed beside the sofa a moment later, peeling her eyes open long enough to glare at Pearl.

“M’not gonna throw up.”

Pearl wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince herself, Pearl, or the tub.

 

When Violet persisted in her stand-off with the bucket and her own stomach, Pearl edged into her original spot beside her on the sofa, eyes flicking between the quiet TV and her girlfriend. She pulled her knees to her chest, fingers gripping her shins to stop them from pressing into Violet’s hair or against the small of her back.

*

Violet turned to look at her stiffly, in stages of realising how long she had been occupied by the tub as she took in Pearl relaxed against the armrest. Pearl stared back at her until Violet grumbled her confusion and crawled over to Pearl, slowly squeezing herself between Pearl’s legs to lie on her chest, her fingers clutching her girlfriend’s shirt.

 

Pearl buried her smile in Violet’s hair, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend as she slid down to lie flat on the sofa, Violet still on top of her.

“You going to be okay there, Vi?”

Violet nodded slightly, melting onto Pearl like an overheated wax model.

“Okay.” Pearl took a deep breath and reached for the remote. She earned a grunt from Violet for her troubles, but the other woman settled when the episode started up again.

*

It took less than half an episode for Pearl to feel Violet drift off again, her body essentially pinning Pearl to the sofa.

Staying as still as she could, Pearl grabbed her phone.

_Not too late yet._

Flipping her phone back onto the coffee table, Pearl wriggled into the cushions as far as she could, yanking at the blanket they were half on top of until it came loose, draping it over Violet and her bare legs.

-

It was almost midnight when Pearl thought to check again, the full body ache that comes with trying to yawn under the weight of a sleeping Violet becoming more and more obvious.  
Having stretched just enough to turn the TV off and slide the remote and awkward distance across the table, Pearl slumped back against the sofa, one hand still tangled in the hair at the base of Violet’s skull.

“Okay girly, gotta get up now. Bedtime.” She whispered as she tried helplessly to squirm out from underneath Violet one limb at a time.

When she had both legs free, Pearl slid her hands under Violet’s head, slipping her from her lap onto a cushion, freezing as Violet stirred. Violet mumbled something unintelligible before going still again. Pearl sighed in relief as she sped down the hall as quietly as she could.

With their bed reassembled and Pearl changed into her pyjamas, Pearl headed back to the living room to find Violet curled around the blanket in her absence, a mess of dark hair and flushed cheeks.

She considered trying to lift Violet bridal style, but quickly binned the idea when she realised that Violet was _never_ well enough to find Pearl dropping her (and/or falling over while holding her) because Pearl had forgotten how poor her upper body strength was funny.

Instead, she pushed Violet’s hair behind her ear and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek, shaking her gently,

“Time to wake up now, Pumpkin, you can’t stay here all night.”

 

Violet twisted around as she woke, squinting up at Pearl with one eye,

“But y’used to.”

“I used to what?”

“Y’used to say out here all night.”

“I don’t-”

“Used to stay out here because y’wouldn’t sleep with me.”

“I- What? When?”

“Before.”

Pearl stared at her wide-eyed as Violet pushed herself up to sit, rubbing her face.

 

It dawned on her like a glass hitting the floor.

 

“You mean back when you only wanted to fuck me?”

Violet shook her head, stilling rubbing her eyes,

“I never _only_ wanted to fuck you. You were always so warm.”

Pearl choked a laugh as Violet wrapped her arms around her middle, nuzzling into the fabric of Pearl’s worn-out tee.

“Okay bitch, whatever you say. Can we go to bed now or are you going to sleep like that?”

Violet grunted softly, her breath leaving a hot patch on Pearl’s stomach.

“Violet.” The other woman mumbled something into her shirt. “What?”

Violet lifted her head, her sleepy eyes catching on something in Pearl’s chest before repeating,

“Carry me t’bed.”

 

Pearl groaned and rolled her head back on her shoulders.

 _Of course it isn’t a question,_ she thought fondly, already rearranging herself to get a grip on Violet’s thighs.

“Hold on properly, okay?”

Violet nodded, wrapping her legs around Pearl’s waist and slinging her arms around Pearl’s neck, a quick peck on Pearl’s nose too, for her troubles.

 

Despite going a little cross-eyed trying to watch what Violet was up to, Pearl managed to get them both up off the sofa, her knees protesting the added weight in a way that she knew she would feel later as she shuffled them both towards bed.

*

Violet flopped onto the bed where Pearl put her, using more strength than she had not to just drop Violet onto the bed to save energy. Pearl almost laughed as she slipped under the covers, the press of the mattress a relief for her back. Violet sat up, going very still. Pearl waited a moment before teasing,

“You need me to undress you too?”

Violet turned just enough that Pearl could see her eye roll in response to Pearl’s eyebrow wiggle, her fingers tugging at the sleeves of the jumper half-heartedly until it lay over her torso like a poncho. She stayed there, staring down at her own fingertips peeking out from the bottom of the jumper, pulling at the knit intermittently.

“What is it, Vi?” Pearl asked softly.

“I’ll be cold without it,” Violet whispered, clenching and unclenching her fists around the knit. Pearl frowned.

 

She shimmied across the bed to sit behind Violet, the covers catching on her legs.

“Hey,” her fingers creeping under the back of the jumper to curl around Violet’s hip, “I’ll keep you warm, okay? I’m still always warm.”

Violet looked over her shoulder, eyes flickering over Pearl’s face feature by feature. Pearl had to lean out of the way when she suddenly moved to push the jumper all the way off, watching as it dropped by the foot of the bed. She then had a Violet fully reclined against her chest.

With her arms curled around Violet’s waist, Pearl let a private smile cross her face as she pressed a kiss to Violet’s temple.

“Okay, actual bedtime now.”

Pearl manoeuvred them both around until they were lying against the pillows, the covers thrown over their waist and Violet’s back curved against Pearl’s front.

 

Slapping the lamp off with a grunt, Pearl settled behind Violet in the dark, draping an arm over her waist.

“Goodnight, Vi,” she yawned, just catching Violet’s muffled reply as Violet’s fingers twisted around her own.

**Author's Note:**

> The part 2 that no one asked for but my brain couldn't let go of! 
> 
>  
> 
> As usual, love me at https://togatenine.tumblr.com


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